Category Archives: Fantasy

The ninth book in a series of fifteen books/the first book in a mid-series trilogy, and a great book with a clever plot. Author: Kathryn Lasky Reveiwer: Keithen

I have read several books by Kathryn Lasky but had never heard of this series until Keithen turned in this review. (I guess librarians just don’t know everything!) If there are fifteen books in the series kids must like these books! The main characters are owls. Interesting! Here is a description of the series from the publisher:

“Out of the darkness, heroes will rise…Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, and Digger are an unlikely band of heroes. They have come together from different kingdoms to fight a fiecrce, mysterious enemy. Together, the four friends have traveled to the Grat Ga’Hoole Tree to train with a mythic community of owls who rise nightly to perform noble deeds. Soon they will have the wisdom and bravery required to destroy the evil that lurks in their midst.”

I haven’t read this one but after I watched the author’s video below – I thought it looked pretty good. I love Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator, so I’m thinking I’ll like this series too. Creepy and fun when characters can communicate with the dead! Besides, Bra-Lynn says it’s good!

Summary from the Online Catalog: “Kat accompanies her best friend Jac to a musicians’ conference at the Whispering Pines Mountain House, where she works to free the spirit of a dead medium and helps Jac resolve a serious conflict.”

This summer, I blogged about the last book in the Percy Jackson & The Olymians series, The Last Olympian. Kids can’t seem to say enough about Percy. Here is what a couple kids had to say about the first book in the series, The Lightning Thief:

This book and the series that follows it is just- awesome. I really recommend this book for someone who might love greece- mythology- or action. This book is written from a twelve year olds point of view ( but the author is much older) and he turns out to be the son of Posiedon the Water God. There are 6 books and they all follow each other up with more action and exitement any other book can show you. I love this book and you might too. Author: Rick Riordan Reviewed by: Emma

i love this book. just because it is about greek myhtology, doesnt mean that it is boring. it informs you with so much, yet it is so fun to read. rick riordan made an amazing book, and we should all be proud. greek mythology is something that is very special, and no one really pays too much attention to it. but this book reunites all greek mythology fans. from god to gorgon! from satyr to cyclops! be proud of what this world has made. Author: Rick Riordan Reviewed by Emily

And finally, a kid word about The Last Olympian. The Last Olympian is so cool let alone the rest of the series! Reviewed by: Storm

Isabelle is an orphan. She works in a factory to pay the rent and buy food for herself and the ailing elderly lady who adopted her. Her job? Sticking address labels on umbrella boxes…all…day…long. And she’s only ten! It rains all the time in her town. She doesn’t even know what sunshine feels like.

Even though this life sounds miserable, Isabelle is sure that one day, something special will happen to her and one day, something special does! Isabelle unexpectedly receives a perfect red apple from a very unusual source. This gift begins Isabelle’s journey to her home, not her room in the attic of the decrepit boardinghouse, but her real home – Fortune’s Magic Farm. The Farm is Isabelle’s real home, it’s the place where the ingredients for magic potions are grown. At the Farm, Isabelle meets some people like herself – special people who have an important job to do saving the world from misery and unhappiness. Author: Suzanne Selfors

Isabelle reminds me a lot of Charlie Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Charlie is also down on his luck when he finds the golden ticket – his ticket to a magical place that is actually meant for him, like he was destined to go there. Isabelle is destined to go to Fortune’s Magic Farm too.

I loved the characters in this book. In Isabelle’s crummy town, Runny Cove, there are some real meanies. On Fortune’s Magic Farm there are some really fun, crazy characters – crazy in a good way – like Willy Wonka.

Conn is an orphan surviving the best he can picking locks, thieving and picking pockets. One night, he picks the pocket of the powerful wizard, Neverly Flinglas. Conn gets the wizard’s locus magicalicus, a stone that is the center of the magician’s power. Nevery isn’t mad that Conn tried to pick his pocket, he’s astonished that touching the magic stone didn’t kill Conn. No one else is supposed to be able to touch a wizard’s stone. Intrigued, Nevery takes on Conn as a servant and when Conn shows he indeed has a mysterious and powerful attraction to magic and magical things, Neverly makes him his apprentice.

The two of them get caught up in a magical investigation when Neverly is hired to figure out why magic is draining away from their city. This story has it all: wizards, a power hungry crime boss, friends, enemies, spying & betrayal. Nevery and Conn are both great characters. Neverly is grouchy and stern, but Conn is so endearing, smart and funny he manages to weasel his way straight into Nevery’s heart…although Neverly would never admit it. Author: Sarah Prineas

Great reading in league with Harry Potter, Septimus Heap and The Bartimaeus Trilogy.